On the occasion of its official auto show premiere in Los Angeles, BMW divulged a good bit more information about the technologies that will debut on the production version of its controversially styled Vision iNext concept car in 2021. Here are four tidbits we learned from the reveal.
Autonomy for all
BMW’s R&D honcho Klaus Froehlich stated that the iNext will offer standard level 3 autonomy (wherein the driver must remain ready to resume control of the car within 10 seconds) on limited-access divided highways and might well progress to level 4 or 5 full autonomy during the model’s lifetime. And BMW’s system won’t be restricted to traffic-jam speeds like Audi’s Traffic Jam Pilot. No, BMW’s autobahn pilot can reportedly do 80 mph (it’s too difficult to detect motorcycles above that speed). Other key differences between the BMW and Audi systems include BMW’s use of different chip-based LiDAR [...]
Cop cars based on supercars are typically the province of Middle Eastern countries’ wealthy police departments, although Italy has been known to use Lamborghinis for highway work, too, and even the Isle of Man has a BAC Mono patrolling Snaefell Mountain. But now the Germans are getting in on the act with AC Schnitzer’s TUNE IT! SAFE! Polizei BMW i8.
As you’d expect, the BMW i8 police car wears a visually overwhelming police livery (a vinyl wrap, thankfully), a Hella light bar on the roof, and a set of Hella lights that project the AC Schnitzer logo. An AC Schnitzer spring kit ostensibly improves handling while also lowering the car by 0.8 inch at each end compared to a stock i8. Power comes from a plug-in-hybrid powertrain featuring a three-cylinder engine and two electric motors.
Other upgrades to the i8’s appearance include AC Schnitzer carbon-fiber accessories for [...]
Mazda’s trick Skyactiv-X engine has the auto industry’s eyes on it because it will be the first gas mill to operate primarily on compression, though a small spark is still needed to ignite and control the combustion process. But not all countries will get the cutting-edge engine right away. At the recent L.A. auto show, we sat down withMazda engineers Dave Coleman and Jay Chen to chat about powertrains, and learned that the automaker will launch Skyactiv-X in markets with strict emissions regulations first. Additionally, each market’s iteration of the engine will have its own tune.
Europe will be the first to receive the Skyactiv-X engine, which is scheduled to launch in late 2019. Chen noted that although the European version may be calibrated to meet the tough regulations in specific parts of the world, they can also calibrate the engine for a different purpose, allowing them to optimize it for each market where it [...]
Mopar has developed more than 200 accessories for the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. Most of the parts will be available when the pickup goes on sale in the second quarter of 2019.
To show off the new parts, Jeep and Mopar brought a modified Gladiator to the Los Angeles auto show. The Gladiator Rubicon show car featured a number of goodies, including a 2-inch lift kit, tube doors, rock rails, and off-road LED lights from Mopar’s Jeep Performance Parts. The truck also has a special hood decal, a blacked-out grille, windshield tie-down straps, and unique five-spoke wheels. The Mopar cold air intake draws in fresh air from the hood cutout for better engine performance.
A truck bed storage system has lockable dual sliding drawers, and bed-mounted cross rails can help transport bikes and kayaks. Inside the cabin, you’ll find Mopar grab handles, Katzkin leather seats, and molle bags.
Other [...]
Look out, Honda Insight, Toyota is bringing some compact sedan hybrid hurt your way with its 2020 Corolla Hybrid. That’s right, folks who want an affordable, small-footprint (normal-looking) hybrid with a trunk will soon have a second option when the 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid hits the market in the spring of 2019, becoming the first hybrid Corolla and the most efficient Corolla in the nameplate’s 53-year, 12-generation history.
The engineering sounds about as simple as a Roadkill engine swap—yank the ZR-FAE 1.8-liter and its Dynamic-Shift belt-and-pulleys CVT out of a high-line Corolla and drop in the Prius’ 2ZR-FXE 1.8-liter and Hybrid Synergy Drive two-motor planetary e-CVT into the hole. With both cars sharing the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), this job sounds way simpler than, say, jamming a Cummins diesel into a Cadillac.
There was, of course, perhaps a bit more to it. For one thing, there’s the [...]
